News Round Up - March

Lovemoney.com - House Prices Grinding to a Halt 30th March

A well referenced piece, which aims to explain the reasons behind the UK's faltering housing market. Easy to digest and without too many technical terms, this is a worthwhile catch up read for anyone who's not kept abreast of market developments in recent months.

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moneymarketing.co.uk - Darling fails to fix flaws in housing 26th March

A critique of Alistair Darling's 2010/2011 Budget, with housing as the main focus.

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The Guardian - North Leading House Price Boom 19th March

This article from the Guardian provides a summary of a recently released research paper from Academetrics. The Academetrics paper makes for particularly interesting reading, because unlike many housing market analysts, they aren't directly employed by a lender!

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HIP-Consultant.co.uk - Tesco/Spicerhaart launches isold.com 4th March

An interesting article on Tesco's second attempt to penetrate the UK property market. For now, the operation is limited to Bristol, but if it's successful, expect to see them operating from a Tesco near you!

Scotland To Lead The UK In Sustainable Development

Deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon, has announced an initiative to create eleven new towns/communities, that it is hoped will put Scotland at the forefront of sustainable development. Launched last week, Sturgeon contended that the project will help the government meet its climate change targets, whilst also helping to improve standards of living.

The eleven projects are: An Camas Mor in Aviemore, Craigmillar in Edinburgh, Grandhome & Whitestripes in Aberdeen, Knockroon in Cumnock, Ladyfield in Dumfries, Lochgelly in Fife, Maryhill Locks in Glasgow, Raploch in Stirling, Speirs Locks in Glasgow, Tornagrain near Inverness, Whitecross in Linlithgow.


Charrettes are being held for three of the proposed developments by renowned US architect Andres Duany. Duany welcomed another chance to participate in the Scottish Sustainable Communities Initiative. "I look forward to working with can-do Scottish professionals in what will be a model for an inclusive process," he enthused. "It should be possible to explore a range of techniques in the hope of contributing to the new Scottish planning system." Duany was behind a similar project for another new town at Tornagrain, near Inverness. Incidentally, Duany also designed the setting of the Hollywood blockbuster The Truman Show, and played a major role in the redesign of parts of Louisiana and Mississippi in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Duany is hosting a number of design workshops in Scotland, allowing local residents to participate in plans for the development of Grandhome and Whitestripes in Aberdeen, a mixed use project at Ladyfield in Dumfriesshire and the expansion of Lochgelly in Fife. They will run for three weeks in March 2010 and will feature intensive events focusing on project design.

The Ladyfield project in Dumfries aims to provide an additional 400 new energy-efficient properties and large and small business facilities. Meanwhile, a substantial urban expansion is planned for the north of Aberdeen, with the possibility of building 7,000 new homes. Plans for Fife include extending Lochgelly with 1,750 new homes, accompanied by eco-friendly connections to the existing town centre.

"The project promoters are excited at the opportunity to develop their ideas with the support of Duany... This combination has the potential to put Scotland at the forefront of new approaches to planning and will attract worldwide recognition of Scottish planning" claimed Sturgeon.

National Director of the Royal Town Planning Institute Veronica Burbridge commented: "At a time when the economic climate presents an additional challenge, initiatives such as the charrettes series can improve quality and help to secure consensus in the planning and design process and act as a template for the successful future delivery of sustainable communities across the country."

More updates on Socttish Eco Developments to follow.



Official Scottish Gov Release | BBC Coverage

New Edinburgh Property: St Vincent Place Showcase

St Vincent Place Edinburgh Showcase

The St Vincent Place development by AMA (New Town) Ltd is one of the finest showcases of new Scottish property. Located at the heart of Edinburgh, it offers stunning views across the new town and Fife.

St Vincent Place is a stunning example of classic New Town architecture. Few Edinburgh properties feature such carefully thought out and constructed design. Natural sandstone forms the sweeping crescent that defines the property. Meanwhile solid timber entrance doors empower the property with an immediate sense of weight and history.

The overarching design is conceived around two simple constructs - space and light. The lofty room heights instantly install a feeling of grandeur, which is yet further enhanced by ample light from carefully placed windows.

Perhaps most remarkable, the Duplex apartments offer double height living spaces, echoing the grand first floor drawing rooms of Edinburgh's town houses. Whilst the penthouse apartments offer not only space, but views of Fife to the north, and across the New Town to the city centre.

Update: Only 5 units remain out of 64 at St Vincent Place, meaning that this successful World Heritage site has bucked the February dip in the Edinburgh housing market.

Scottish Property Market In Recovery (Update)

New figures released by the Land Registry yesterday contrasted with those released earlier in the week, by mortgage lenders.

According to the latest release from the Land Registry index, UK house prices were 2.1% higher in January than in December, and 5.2% higher than in January 2008. The organisation said this is the second consecutive month that house prices have maintained a year-on-year increase, and the eighth consecutive month on month increase.

The Land Registry considers this to be a sure indication that house prices are rising, despite some areas recovering slower than others.

The indices of the Land Registry and the Government (via the Department for Communities and Local Government) were much slower to start showing monthly increases and thus far have only recorded slight monthly increases with a couple of exceptions.

However, this data is at odds with reports released by Nationwide and Halifax earlier this month.

The Nationwide and Halifax are now showing price rises as slowing, with Nationwide recently releasing data showing a fall of 1.5% between January and February. This is in stark contrast with the Land Registry's which show one of its biggest ever growths. It will be interesting to see if DCLG's prices for January echo these findings.

While the indices of the DCLG and Land Registry are thought to be more accurate, because they are formed from on actual sales, rather than mortgage applications like those ran by two of the UK's largest lenders. Conversely, mortgage applications have been declining this year, which would support the slowing of price growth found by the lenders.

As such, this time of year normally shows growth in the property market as a whole, as demand and supply increase. In light of the wider economic picture and planned cutbacks from the government,it is difficult to say which trend will prevail.

Share your opinions in the comments section.

Land Registry: View the latest statistical release (PDF 195KB)

Stewart Milnes: Athena Grange in Pretonpans, EH32

Located in the historic town of Prestonpans on the shores of the Firth of Forth, Athena Grange is a thoughtfully planned development, comprising of a selection of one and two bedroom apartments, two, three and four bedroom terraced and semi detached villas and three, four and five bedroom detached family homes.

Only 14 miles from Edinburgh, Athena Grange combines great accessibility, with historic small town charisma and stunning views to boot. Situated in a lively community, with a range of established schools, and all the essential amenities.

Built to high standards, a Stewart Milne home offers a blank canvas with which to create your dream home. Designed for modern living, with utilisation of space that reflects the way we live today, Stewart Milne Homes come in all shapes and sizes.


Stewart Milne homes meet exacting standards for everything from structure to fire safety. These high standards of construction, and caring workmanship also ensure that new homes are better for the environment and and in turn for your wallet too! Reflecting Stewart Milnes confidence in the quality of their builds, all homes come with a 10-year NHBC warranty!

To request a brochure, or book a viewing simply click here!

Athena Grange is just one of sixteen Stewart Milnes' developments currently in progress in the central Scotland region. (See Below)

Home Insulation Incentives Commence In Scotland

If your house is over twenty years old, then it's very likely that you have sufficient insulation. Unlike new homes in Scotland, which come with added loft and cavity insulation as standard, many older houses lack these vital energy saving features.



Keep an eye out for people baring climate change tackling gifts of insulation and other energy saving efficiency tools. The Scottish Government has signalled that a number of communities and areas where additional energy efficiency measures are most needed to, are to receive them over the coming months.

According to the government, the criteria for deciding which areas that will be covered are:

* Levels of fuel poverty
* House age and emissions
* The potential number of treatable houses
* Potential for complementary funding

Areas to be covered are:

17,245 homes in Stirling - the whole city
14,000 homes in Angus - Brechin and Montrose
13,515 homes in Glasgow - King's Park, Croftfoot, Simshill and Cardonald
13,000 homes in Edinburgh - Craigentinny and Duddingston
10,000 homes in Fife - Leven, Kennoway and Largo
8,823 homes in Dundee - Broughty Ferry
1,500 homes in South Lanarkshire - West Rutherglen
9,034 homes in Highland - Thurso and Fort William
8,506 homes in Western Isles - Lewis and Harris
388 homes in Orkney - within parts of Kirkwall and Stromness

The Home Insulation Scheme is designed to improve the energy efficiency of homes through promoting and installing insulation and other energy saving measures. Ultimately said energy saving measures will reduce energy costs, an attractive incentive for anyone!

For further information, see Energy Savings Trust, or for free advice on loft and cavity wall insulation call the Energy Saving Trust advice line on 0800 512 012 (0300 456 2655 from a mobile) between 9am – 5pm.


Update:

The Scotsman have just published an interesting article covering the new "Green Loans" scheme that will accompany the Government's Warm Homes, Greener Homes scheme.

Apparently millions of Scots will be eligible for funding for energy saving improvements such as insulation and double glazing.

Scottish Property Market In Recovery

Whilst Englands's property market has endured a sustained battering, the Scottish market is showing the early signs of recovery.

A recent Scottish house price paper, revealed that in the three months to 31/01/10, house price roses on average by 5.9% on the previous quarter. Following seasonal and mix adjusting pricing, the average house price reached £160,074 .

Nearly all areas experienced a quarterly increase in prices, with the highest increases recorded in Dundee with 16.3% and Edinburgh with 11.4%.

However, Scotland as a whole continued to report an annual fall in prices. Prices in prices in Glasgow fell by 12%, whilst Dundee fell by 2%. Overall, on an annual basis, Scottish property prices have now fallen by an average of 6.8%.

Despite the mixed figures, Professor Donald MacRae, chief economist at Lloyds Banking Group Scotland, said "business surveys point to an exit from recession in early 2010, despite five consecutive quarterly falls in output in the Scottish economy. The level of mortgage availability including for first-time buyers has increased while the cost of borrowing remains low for many mortgage holders. The Scottish housing market is now into recovery."


Let's hope this improvement continues!